LOS ANGELES, Dec 27 — At US$450 (RM1,568) a person, a triple Michelin-starred sushi restaurant in New York where diners are given no menus has emerged the most expensive dining destination in the US.

After crunching the numbers, food blog The Daily Meal has deduced that Masa at the Time Warner Centre in New York is the most extravagant and priciest restaurant in the US for charging a minimum of US$450 a person for their meal.

The Japanese menu at Masa, which chef Masayoshi Takayama opened in 2004, is omakase only, which means “I leave it to you” in Japanese.

That means diners sit down to whatever the chef has planned for that evening.

In addition to paying for masterful Japanese dishes from one of the most pre-eminent sushi chefs in the US, the exorbitant price tag can also be explained by the fact that fish is flown in from Japan and that the meal is almost sure to feature luxurious ingredients such as Kobe beef and truffles.

Masa is the first Japanese restaurant in the US to be awarded three Michelin stars.

And if you’re wondering if the US$450 price tag is worth it, so did the restaurant critic for The New York Times, Sam Sifton, who called Masa the city’s greatest sushi restaurant in 2011 despite a few service wrinkles.

The list of the top 10 most expensive restaurants is dominated by addresses in California, as well as Las Vegas and New York.

Close at Masa’s heels is Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, where a meal for one person racks up US$425, followed by Urasawa in Beverly Hills, also a Japanese omakase restaurant where a 30-course meal costs US$375.

Here are the top 10 priciest restaurants in the US:

1. Masa, New York US$450
2. Joël Robuchon, Las Vegas, US$425
3. Urasawa, Beverly Hills, California, US$395
4. Guy Savoy, Las Vegas US$375
5. Per Se, New York City US$310
6. The French Laundry, Yountville, California, US$295
7. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, Brooklyn, New York, US$255
8. Saison, San Francisco US$248
9. Baumé, Palo Alto, California, US$238
10. The Restaurant at Meadowood, St Helena, California, US$225

— AFP-Relaxnews